Jusitns-MR2

Member
Aug 5, 2001
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Ok after weeks of contemplating on which boots to get I finally decided to buy the Sidi Flex Force. But after what I thought was a great decision I tried them on today and they don't fit around my 18" calf. Even with the calf adujstment maxed out I can't even buckle the top strap. WTF? I don't understand. After reading the review of this boot in the DRN Tested area I thought this boot would fit great around my large calves. Considering the tester had the same size calves as I do. Here is a qoute from the review "There is plenty of room in the calf area to accommodate my Asterisk Cell braces and my 18" calves" Yeah right! He must have been mistaken about his calf size because there is no way he could have squezed a 18" calf and a knee brace into these boots. I cant even tuck my pants into my Sidi's. Has anyone else had this problem?
 

Rich Rohrich

Moderator / BioHazard
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Jul 27, 1999
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Here's some text from my Sidi SRS review:
The combination of the calf adjustment system and good range in the buckles makes for a boot that will fit a wide variety of riders, except ME. I have a small foot (8.5-9 ) coupled with a short but wide calf (18.25" without MX pants) so I figured I would have to modify the calf adjustment system with a pattern file to fit me. The good part is modifying the calf system for a wider range of adjustment is quick, easy, and it should work great. The problem for me is even with the mods I don't have anywhere near enough room to fit my CTI Edge brace in there. Okie is a big guy but he didn't have any problems fitting his Asterisk braces in the non-SRS Flex Force model, so this problem seems isolated to my weird physical dimensions.

I really like this boot so I resigned myself to modifying the calf adjustment and using them when I could get away without wearing braces. Unfortunately what I found was that even with the mods I wasn't going to get the calf adjusted to the point where I could get the ankle hinge to work to my satisfaction even without the brace. I tried riding around with the upper buckles removed and found the sweet spot. Excellent comfort and shifting. So I took some safety wire and extended the range of the calf adjustment well beyond the amount I could modify the current setup and put the buckles back on. I got this to work but the problem is this looks to be beyond the range that I could modify the calf attachment points without major effort.

So this really great boot doesn't look like it's going to work for me. For someone with more conventional body parts I'd highly recommend this boot.
 

Jaybird

Apprentice Goon
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Mar 16, 2001
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One of the testers stated that the boot was not workable for his large calves with braces. Another stated he could see how there would be problems with the boot for those who wear braces with large calves.
Did you read all the reviews?
 

Jusitns-MR2

Member
Aug 5, 2001
12
0
Yeah, I did read all the reviews but I must have missed that part. Oh well, I really like the rest of the boots so I am going to keep them and just ride with the top strap removed.
 

Rich Rohrich

Moderator / BioHazard
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Jul 27, 1999
22,838
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Keep in mind that the range of adjustment gets considerably larger as the boot size gets larger. Some of the bigger sizes have an additional mounting position for the top strap that opens up the adjustment a couple of inches. This additional mounting point wasn't present on the 43cm(size 9) boots I tested.
 

Wraith

Do the impossible its fun
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Jul 16, 2000
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I believe that someone even started a thread in this Forum about this once before. I have the boots (after reading the review, since my Alps were shot) and can see where someone with large calf would have problems. I have a normal size calf (I guess) and with armor under my pants there is not too much room for adjustment. But I'm done growing :confused: and I wouldn't trade these boots for anything.:cool:
 

buffmaster

Mi. Trail Riders
Member
Apr 11, 2001
559
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Call Motonation and let them know your problem. I had some questions about this when these things first came out and the guy I talked to told me about a guy that work w/him that has them and that he has a 19" calf. There was something that he did to them that I don't want to say because of warranty issues and what not, but they might be able to help you. They also told me that if the boots didn't work out, you could return them as long as they didn't have any noticable wear on them (i.e.- you wore them around the house w/braces and pants. but didn't go outside in them, let alone ride in them.).
 

BRush

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Jun 5, 2000
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Motonation has a pretty good no-hassle return policy - as long as you have just worn the boots around the house. If you took them out riding and banged them up, that's another story. I did not like the calf fit on mine and returned them with no problem. I got a full refund, but they were in pristine condition.
 

Bill Hibbs

~SPONSOR~
Aug 25, 1999
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You should also check the follow up threads to the reviews. I posted this in September:

"Well, I just got my Sidi's (SRS Model) and have put one ride on them. They barely fit over my knee guards and are extremely stiff. After reading Rich's review it looks like the tight fit around my calves could be adding to the stiff feel I'm experiencing around the ankle. The plastic the boots have on the inside of the calves, vs a leather surface most boots have, creates a "Different" feel as well. I feel like I'm not gripping the bike as much. I also have a feeling that my calves are pushed out further than normal. I ride a size 9/43 with 16" calves. I'm using the Fox Pivot knee guards which may be the reason they're so tight. I'm going to make some more adjustments and break them in some more. I really hope I can get them to fit right and losen up a little. The protection of the boot is superior to anything I've seen. If anyone wants to try them out at the SpodeFest just let me know. You can help me break them in. "


Since then I've gotten different knee pads that don't fit into the boot and I run the buckles much looser which allows the boot to flex a LOT better. I'd double check the adjustable calfs as well. I went over them again and found I had a little more adjustability than I thought which helped as well.
 
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